New Zealand's competition watchdog, the Commerce Commission, is investigating whether changes to regulation of backhaul services in the country’s telecommunication sector are needed to promote greater industry competition for the long-term benefit of consumers.
The commission released a discussion paper on Thursday indicating its intention to look at how domestic backhaul services — which convey Internet traffic between exchanges and Internet Service Providers — have evolved over recent years due to rapid changes in the telecommunications market.
New Zealand’s major ISPs are Spark, the largest telco in the country, Vocus and Vodafone.
“Backhaul services are a key component of the telecommunications market and critical for ensuring New Zealanders can benefit from access to quality broadband services,” said commissioner Dr Stephen Gale.
{loadposition peter}“We want to explore whether the current regulatory regime is fit for purpose, so we would like to hear from anyone with an interest in this sector.”
The commission is seeking feedback on the paper: A Section 9A Backhaul Study: Preliminary questions in understanding domestic backhaul services.
It has given the industry until 23 September to submit response to the discussion paper.